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New Study Recasts Human-Neanderthal Link

Researchers Conclude Species Overlapped With Neanderthals for Long Period

A new study concludes that modern humans arrived in Europe much earlier than previously believed, and that they may have overlapped with Neanderthals for as many as 5,400 years before the latter vanished. Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London explains the study's significance.

A new study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, concludes that modern humans arrived in Europe much earlier than previously believed, and clarifies, more specifically, the long time period they overlapped with Neanderthals.

The study also bolsters a theory that the two species met, bred and possibly exchanged or copied vital toolmaking techniques. It represents another twist in an enduring puzzle about human origins: why...